THE 



MAE"AGEMENT AND TREATMENT 



OF 



THE HORSE. 



CHAPTEE I. 



THE STABLE, AS IT IS AND AS IT OUGHT 



TO BE. 



" Happy he who studies Nature's laws, 

 Through effects can trace the certain cause." — Virgil. 



I CANNOT do better to begin this treatise than 

 by pointing out some of the evils the horse has 

 to suffer, in consequence of the ignorance displayed 

 by the architect who draws the plan of the stable. 

 I will endeavour to show in a few simple words 

 the great faults in nearly every stable I have 

 been in for the last twenty years, some of which 

 have been the best in England. 



The first defect to be noticed is the floor, which 

 is nearly always made high in front of the horse's 

 head, and slopes down low to his hind feet. This, 

 I contend, is unnatural, and therefore wrong. The 

 stable floor should always be made with the hind 

 part at least one inch higher than the fore part. 

 Some people may object to this, on the ground 

 that the water will all run under the horse 

 and cause a great waste of litter. This may be 

 easily avoided by placing one grate in the centre 



